Burned
by lost-in-the-sekai
Summary: An AU Organization XIII induction story for No. VIII, Axel. Rated M for murder, One-shot.


There was an old saying that my mom had, one that never really made any real sense to me. It was just me and her in those days, and we were all each other had. I was just a kid, so there was no way for me to know that the way she made a living was a dirty and dishonorable one. It would eventually be her undoing, an old bastard who just couldn't keep his hands off her... But on the day of her funeral, I recited the saying. There was nothing else I could choke out without breaking down and running out of the funeral parlor. I stood by the podium, looking at my mother's cold and lifeless body as I spoke.

"Of all the elements to perish from, I will always desire and end by fire; for out of all disasters, fire is the one who leaves nothing in its wake. The creator must one day go, leaving the elements to themselves... Fire will emerge victorious." My voice broke at the end, and I walked away from the podium, ripping off my bowtie and sobbing as I ran. As I ran past the nightclub my mother dedicated herself to, the tears of sadness turned to ones of anger and all I could see was red. Red everywhere, all different shades. Yellow too. My palms heated up, and I heard screaming. Not screaming like in the movies, but a true, blood-curdling scream. The tears cleared, and what I saw before me was an inferno. Nothing of the nightclub had been spared. It was completely up in flames.

I remember being so confused, so scared, so... Cold. Like all of the heat in my body was gone, despite the huge fire in front of me. I looked to my palms, which felt the coldest of all. They were alight, flames pouring from them like some hellish liquid. I had caused the fire, all of this awful screaming, I just wanted it to go away... But it wouldn't. People were dying. Charred bodies tried to escape from windows, but to no avail.

"Oh, God... No... I... NO!" I fell to my knees, sobbing. How the hell had I done this? How was this even possible? Sirens began to blare, and the night sky was full of light as the fire expanded. I rose to my feet, not wasting any time as I ran. I didn't even know where I was supposed to be going... I just ran. That's when I realized I could never be free. The screams followed me wherever I went, the confusion, the fear. I had been able to call on fire... But how? What was this? Then I remembered my mother's strange saying. It was all about fire. She had known this would happen to me... Why hadn't she told me?! What was I supposed to do?!

Collapsing on the side of the road, I let the sobs take over me once more. I lay there for several hours, my eyes open, too afraid to fall asleep. Not a single car passed by, the road was absolutely desolate... Until I heard the sound of a sitar. My friend Demyx had loved to play the sitar...

"Axel? Is that... You?" A voice called out. I stayed put, not daring to move. The sitar playing stopped, and I felt my body being turned as someone placed my head in their lap. A face with a weird mullet hairstyle filled my view. It was Demyx, alright.

"Demyx... I... I'm a monster... I..." I broke down again, sobbing in his arms.

"What do you mean, Axel?" The boy was shocked, pulling away from me.

I explained everything that happened, and his eyes went wide. He stood up, backing away from me.

"You're a monster... You belong in jail! Or dead! You're not normal!" He backed away, yelling in a disgusted tone.

Anger filled me up again, like a hose inside me was just turned on to the max.

"YOU THINK I ASKED TO BE THIS WAY?!"

I grabbed his shoulder, hard, and he screamed. I let go of his shoulder, planning to let him go... But suddenly he was ablaze. I had done it again. He screamed, pleading with me, and I desperately looked arounf for something, anything to extinguish him. But it was too late. He was gone.

"NO! DAMN IT, GET UP DEMYX! GET THE HELL UP!" I rushed over to my best friend, his charred remains. It was an awful, gruesome sight. Had I truly done that? Why had this happened? What had I done?

"I... I'm a monster..." My eyes widened, and I ran from his dead body, running and running until my legs felt like they were about to break.

"I killed him... My best friend... I KILLED HIM!"

My voice echoed in the darkness, and a man came forward. I didn't notice him at first, until I tripped over a rock and just lay there, scraped up and bloody. I tried to burn myself, but it seemed fire had no effect on me... I couldn't even kill myself...

"Hello there, young man." A man entered my line of sight. All I could see was his shoes, and I had no intention to get up. I would only end up killing him, too. I made no effort to reply.

"I know who you are, and what you're capable of. I know how to help you... I can get you away from this world. You would make an excellent assassin..."

Assassin? My mind went blank. It... It didn't sound like such a bad idea. It was all I was capable of now... Murder... I could hurt people in so many ways... Be useful to this guy... I sat up, taking the guy in. He had bronze skin, and silver hair. He smiled at me, extending a hand.

"And what's your name, yound man?" He asked as I took his hand.

I grinned malevolently and shook his hand.

"Just call me Axel."

"I am Xemnas. Leader of Organization XIII. We would be honored to put your skills to good use, Axel." He waved his hand, opening a portal that swirled with all colors of darkness.

"Step on through. Right into The World That Never Was."


End file.
